Skandapurana 3.1.3

The seers said:

Among those twenty-four sacred fords mentioned by you, O sage,

those principal sacred fords on the bridge that destroys sin,

how did the renown of the very first sacred ford

as 'Cakra-tīrtha' arise? Tell us, Sūta, as we ask.

The auspicious Sūta said:

O best of brahmins, among the twenty-four principal sacred fords,

the first sacred ford that has been mentioned is celebrated in all the worlds.

By remembering that sacred ford, there is no dwelling in a womb;

even sins committed over a hundred thousand births vanish,

by a single ritual ablution in that sacred ford, by remembering it, or even by praising it.

In this world, a sacred ford superior to that or equal to that, O best of brahmins,

does not exist, O best of sages; this truth is spoken by me.

The Gaṅgā, the Sarasvatī, the Revā, the Pampā, the Godāvarī river,

the Kālindī and the Kāverī, the Narmadā, Maṇikarṇikā,

and whatever other sacred fords and holy rivers there are on the surface of the earth,

are not equal to even a ten-millionth part of this sacred ford, O foremost brahmins.

Those who know the past call that sacred ford Dharma-tīrtha.

How its fame as 'Cakra-tīrtha' arose,

I shall now explain; listen, O bulls among sages!

The base of the bridge is indeed declared as that; it is recognized as Darbhaśayana.

Right there is Cakra-tīrtha, destroying great sins.

Long ago, a sage named Gālava, devoted to Viṣṇu,

on the shore of the southern ocean, not far from Hālāsya...

and near Phullagrāma, in the vicinity of the Kṣīrasaras,

on the bank of the Dharmapuṣkariṇī, he practiced great austerity,

chanting the eternal Brahman for ten thousand yugas, O brahmins.

Endowed with compassion, fasting, truthful, and subduing his senses,

viewing all living beings like himself, free from longing for sense-objects,

intent on the welfare of all beings, self-restrained, and free from all dualities,

for some years he ate withered leaves;

for some time he subsisted on water, and for a few years he fed on air.

In this manner, for five thousand years, that great sage

performed dreadful austerity, difficult even for the gods to perform.

Then, for five thousand years, that foremost of sages,

taking no food, seeing no light, holding his breath, without a fixed abode,

enduring downpours in the rains, lying in water during the winters,

standing amidst the five fires in summer, devoted to meditation on Viṣṇu,

reciting the eight-syllable mantra and meditating in his heart upon Janārdana,

performed austerity—Gālava, the eminent sage of immense splendor.

Thus ten thousand years passed indeed for the sage.

Then, pleased by his austerity, the Blessed Lord, the husband of Kamalā,

bearing the conch, discus, and mace, appeared visibly before him,

his eyes resembling blooming lotus petals, his radiance equal to ten million suns,

mounted upon Vinatā's son [Garuḍa], adorned with an umbrella and chowries,

adorned with necklaces, armlets, a diadem, bracelets, and other ornaments,

surrounded by attendants such as Viṣvaksena and Sunanda,

accompanied by Nārada and others playing the vīṇā, flute, mṛdaṅga, and other instruments,

his victory being praised in song, resplendent in yellow garments,

his chest graced by Lakṣmī, with a complexion resembling a dark-blue raincloud,

waving a lotus with one hand, the slayer of Madhu,

attended on both sides by great yogins such as Sanaka,

enchanting all the three worlds with his gentle smile,

illuminating all ten directions with his own luster, O brahmins,

adorned with the Kaustubha jewel resting upon his neck,

accompanied by numerous chamberlains holding golden canes in hand,

whose miraculous nature is sung, inconceivable and unattainable to others,

the God easily accessible to true devotees, the beloved of Lakṣmī, Hari himself,

appeared before that great sage Gālava.

Then, seeing the Lord manifest with his chest marked by the Śrīvatsa,

wearing yellow garments, the great sage attained immense satisfaction.

Endowed with supreme devotion, he praised the Lord of the universe.
Gālava said:

Homage to the God of gods, the bearer of the conch, discus, and mace!

Homage to the eternal one, the pure one, whose nature is being, consciousness, and bliss!

Homage to you, the remover of the distress of devotees, whose embodiment is the sacrificial oblations for gods and ancestors!

Homage to you possessing the threefold form, the cause of creation, preservation, and dissolution!

Homage to the supreme Lord, homage to the omnipresent one, homage be to the Lord of Lakṣmī, the creator!

Homage be to the one whose eyes are the sun and the moon! Homage to the one worshipped by Viriñci and the rest!

He who is free from the conceptual distinctions of name, caste, and the like, who is also devoid of all faults,

to him who takes away the fear of all worldly existence, to that destroyer of Daityas, homage!

To the one known through the Vedānta, the Lord of Ramā, dwelling in Vaikuṇṭha, father of the creator,

repeated homage to the remover of the distress of virtuous people, to Nārāyaṇa of boundless valor!

Homage to you, the Blessed Lord, Vāsudeva, wielder of the Śārṅga bow!

Again and again homage to you who recline on the couch of Śeṣa!

Having thus praised Hari, O brahmins, that Gālava sat in silence.

Hearing the hymn of that great soul, pleasing to the ears, Hari,

the wielder of the conch, discus, and mace, attained supreme satisfaction.

Then Śauri, embracing the sage with his four arms,

spoke, filled with affection: 'Let a boon be chosen!

I am pleased today by your austerity and by your hymn, O Gālava,

and delighted by your reverent bow, I have come to bestow a boon.'

Gālava said:

O Nārāyaṇa, O Lord of Ramā, O yellow-robed one, O immanent in the universe,

O Janārdana, O abode of the universe, O Govinda, O slayer of Naraka!

By your darśana I have attained my purpose, superior indeed to all.

The unrighteous do not see you, because you are the protector of dharma.

What Bhava does not know, what Brahmā does not know, and what the three Vedas do not know,

that Supreme Self I know. What boon is higher than this?

Whom yogins do not see, whom the ritualists do not see,

that Supreme Self I see. What boon is higher than this?

And by this I have achieved my goal, O Janārdana, Lord of the universe!

By the mere remembrance of whose name even perpetrators of great sins

[and] sages attain liberation—that Janārdana I behold.

May I have unswerving devotion to the pair of your lotus feet!

Hari said:

May your devotion to me be firm and desireless now, O Gālava.

And hear another word being spoken by me, O sage.

Performing actions for my sake, meditating on me, devoted entirely to me,

at the end of this body governed by prārabdha [karma], you shall attain my true nature.

Dwell in this very hermitage, O best of sages!

And this Dharmapuṣkariṇī is holy and destroys sin;

performing austerity on its bank, one would attain success in austerity.

In ancient times, Dharma, having arrived at the shore of the southern ocean,

performed austerity then, meditating in his mind upon Mahādeva.

And Dharma made a sacred ford for the purpose of ritual ablution, O great sage;

therefore it is celebrated as Dharmapuṣkariṇī, since it was made by him.

Just as austerity was practiced by you now, O best of sages,

so was austerity performed by that Dharma, who was serving Hara.

Pleased by his austerity, Maheśvara, the trident-bearer,

manifested with his own splendor, illuminating the ten directions.

Then, to Mahādeva, the treasure of compassion, who had reached the hermitage,

Dharma, exceedingly pleased, offered praise to the Supreme Lord.

Dharma said:

I bow to the Lord of the universe, Īśāna, whose self is the praṇava,

who embodies all deities, devoid of beginning, middle, and end.

I bow to the one of upward-drawn seed, the odd-eyed one, whose form is the universe,

the foundation of the whole universe, endless, unborn, imperishable.

Whom the chiefs of yogins celebrate, to that enhancer of nourishment I pay homage.

Homage to the supreme lord of the worlds, to the deceiver, to the arch-deceiver!

Homage be to the blue-necked one! Homage to the lord of creatures!

Homage to the destroyer of blemishes! And homage to the most bountiful!

Homage to the god Rudra, to the fierce Rudra, the wise!

Homage to the one with the Pināka in his hand! Homage to you with the trident in your hand!

Homage to the one whose form is consciousness! Homage to the lord of prosperities!

Homage to the five-faced god! Homage to the lord of fields!

Thus praised, Mahādeva Śaṃkara, who brings welfare to the world,

attained supreme satisfaction and spoke to Dharma indeed:

Maheśvara said:

I am pleased by this hymn of yours, O noble-minded Dharma.

Choose a boon from me; make no delay indeed!

Addressed thus by Īśvara, Dharma then spoke to the god:

May I ever be your mount, O lord of Pārvatī!

This very boon must be granted to me, O destroyer of Tripura!

By the mere bearing of you, sir, I shall be fulfilled!

Spoken to in this manner by Dharma, the god then said to Dharma:

Īśvara said:

Be my mount, O Dharma, worshipped by the world at all times!

And your power in bearing me shall be unfailing.

Those who serve you shall always have devotion toward me; there is no doubt here.

When this was said by Śaṃkara, Dharma, assuming the form of a bull,

bore the Supreme Lord from that time forward, O Gālava.

Mahādeva, having mounted that Dharma who possessed the form of a bull,

shining brightly, spoke supreme nectar to Dharma.

Īśvara said:

For the sacred ford that was made by you on the shore of the southern ocean

shall be renowned in the world as Dharmapuṣkariṇī.

On its bank, recitation, burnt oblations, gift-giving, and scriptural study,

and other collections of meritorious acts performed with joy by men,

should be known as yielding infinite fruit; no doubt should be entertained here."

Having thus granted a boon to that sacred ford of Dharma, Śaṃkara,

mounting the bull Dharma, went to Mount Kailāsa.

"Now, therefore, O Gālava, on the bank of Dharmapuṣkariṇī,

performing austerity until the fall of the body, composed in mind,

dwell, O tiger among sages; afterwards you will certainly attain me.

Whenever fear arises in you, then I will destroy it

in an instant by my weapon, the discus, dispatched by me."

Having spoken thus, the blessed Lord Viṣṇu vanished right there.

Śrī Sūta said:

When that Viṣṇu had vanished, Gālava, the best of sages,

devoted to meditation on Viṣṇu on the bank of Dharmapuṣkariṇī,

worshipping Viṣṇu at the three junctures of the day in a liberation-granting Śālagrāma stone,

dwelt wise, resolute, dispassionate, and with senses conquered.

Once, during the month of Māgha, in the bright fortnight on the day of Hari,

having fasted and kept a night vigil, he worshipped Viṣṇu at night.

On the next day, the twelfth [lunar day], having bathed in the water of Dharmapuṣkariṇī,

he performed the obligatory rites beginning with twilight devotions.

Then he undertook to perform the worship of Hari.

Having gathered tulasī and other flowers, Gālava,

having performed the worship of Kṛṣṇa, uttered this hymn of praise.

Gālava said:

Viṣṇu with a thousand heads, Hari who assumed the form of a fish,

Hṛṣīkeśa whose form is the tortoise and the boar, I bow to.

The man-lion, the one named Vāmana, the son of Jamadagni, and Rāghava,

Balabhadra, Kṛṣṇa, and Kalki—to Viṣṇu I bow.

Vāsudeva, without support, the destroyer of distress in those who bow down,

the foundation of all beings, Janārdana, I revere.

The omniscient one, maker of all, whose form is being, consciousness, and bliss,

inconceivable, indescribable, to Janārdana I am bowed.

Praising thus, the great yogin Gālava, the best of sages,

remained on the bank of Dharmapuṣkariṇī, intent on meditation.

Meanwhile, a certain rākṣasa approached the sage Gālava,

dreadful, afflicted greatly by hunger, in order to devour him.

That rākṣasa then seized Gālava with swift force.

Having been seized forcefully by that night-roamer,

he cried out to the ocean of compassion, the refuge of those in distress,

to Nārāyaṇa, the discus-bearer, saying repeatedly, "Protect, protect!"

"O Supreme Lord, supreme bliss, protector of those who come for refuge,

save me, ocean of compassion, fallen into the power of a rākṣasa!

O beloved of Lakṣmī, Hari, Viṣṇu, Vaikuṇṭha, one whose emblem is Garuḍa,

protect me, overpowered by a rākṣasa, just as [you protected] the elephant seized by an alligator!

O Dāmodara, Lord of the World, crusher of the demon Hiraṇya,

protect me, greatly tormented by a rākṣasa, as [you protected] Prahrāda!"

While that Gālava was thus praising, O best of the twice-born,

recognising the fear of his devotee, the discus-bearer, Vṛṣākapi,

sent forth his own discus for the sake of protecting his devotee.

Dispatched by the mighty Viṣṇu, that discus of Viṣṇu

came then with speed to the bank of Dharmapuṣkariṇī,

resembling infinite suns, equal in radiance to infinite fires,

with great flames, a great roar, crusher of great demons.

Seeing the Sudarśana of Viṣṇu, the rākṣasa then fled.